BB Upcoming Events 5/11 -17 +Summer!
BB Updates: May 11 - 17
Book Buddies: Hello my favorite writers.
Happy belated Mother’s Day for all who celebrate. I hope you had a nice day whatever you did. This weekend I had big plans to get a bunch of writing done, but alas - it wasn’t meant to be. I did go see Project Hail Mary and loved it, so not a total bust. How’re your projects going? Tell me everything.
If, like me, you were itching to make the time to write and it just didn’t happen, come to gen writing tomorrow. If it’s not included in your membership but you wanna try it out, email me - some once for free and see what you think!
If you know anyone who isn’t yet a Book Buddy who you think would like it and would maybe wanna try, let them know! Here’s the link to register: https://www.katesenecal.com/store/p/book-buddies-gen-writing-single-session-drop-in. It’s $25 for a single session.
Mark Your Calendars! Summer Book Buddy Weekend is BOOKED!
Last year in August we had a lovely weekend extravaganza here in Easthampton starting with a daylong retreat on a Saturday then we gathered at Nonotuc Park for a little party on Sunday. Good news! We’re doing it again! I’ve just booked our usual retreat space for Saturday August 8th! Remember, you get a discount using the BOOKBUDDY10 code upon check out (10%), and if you’re itching to register early you can do so using this link. I’m in process planning a little party for us on August 9, but if all goes well, I’ll hold it this year at Darlings where we do the reading series in the afternoon. I have to be sure I can book the space, so I’ll get back to you once it’s secure, but it’s a little bar/cafe set up and is family friendly. They have desserts, coffee, cocktails, wine/beer, mocktails, and other snacks. My hope is that we can hang together, and then at the end have a little open mic! Stay tuned. Will let you know when that’s all settled.
If you hope to come that weekend and are traveling from outside of western MA, let me know! I might be able to help you find lodging.
Kill Your Darlings Reading Series THIS SATURDAY MAY 16!
Our second installment of the Kill Your Darlings Reading Series @ Darlings Bar and Cafe in Easthampton is already upon us this Saturday. I can’t believe it. Readers this time are Tiffany Jewell, Adam Grabowski, and Jan Freeman. Doors open at 4, reading starts at 4:30 and goes til about 6. If you’re local, come! It was a blast last time.
Book Club
I’m moving book club back to Mondays! So this means our next one will be June 15th not the 16th. On the 15th, however, I’m on the hunt for a Gen Writing sub so that I can attend Heather Abel’s book launch at the Odyssey Bookshop. Are you interested in subbing? Send me an email if so. Are you interested in coming to see Heather with me? Let me know, and register using this link (it’s free!)
For this one we’re reading Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Here’s the publisher’s blurb:
Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.
I think it sounds rad and hope you read it.
Feedback Group Submission Schedules!
IRL Group Wednesdays @ beautyland 6:30-8:30: The next meeting is May 13 and Genna and Johanna will have floor time with pages due ASAP. Aimee and Rich are up next for the May 27 meeting.
Noon Crew Thursdays 12pm - 1:30: The next meeting is May 13 and Sara will have the floor, and pages are already in. Jill is up the following meeting with pages due on May 21, meeting on May 28.
Weirdlings Wednesdays 12pm - 1:30: We meet again on May 13 and Erika is up with pages already in our inboxes. Ed has the floor for the May 28 meeting.
Kool Kids Thursdays at 7pm - 8:30: Our next meeting is May 21, and Rebecca has the floor. Her pages are already in, and don’t forget we have time to do some craft geeking out so come with questions/discussion topics!
OG Crew Thursdays at 7:30pm - 9: The next meeting is on May 14. Malavika and Maia will have floor time. Maia’spages came in today and Malavika’s are due ASAP.
Saturday besties 12:30pm - 2: The next meeting is May 23 and Ali and Georgia have the floor.
Book Buddies Bulletin Board :)
Got an announcement? Wanna share a publication with the wider BB community? Are you looking for a beta reader or some other kind of lowkey support from each other? Email me and I’ll include your announcements and requests here!
Here are the ones from last week!
Genna Sarnak has a bunch of poems out right now:
“Our Love” won the 100-word contest from PHIL LIT (December 2025)
“Chokehold” published in Scapegoat Review (Spring 2026)
“Hanging Out With Depression” published in PHIL LIT (Spring 2026) and the Subtack linkto vote for the poem.
“Riding the Bus Without a Destination” published in The Faoileánach Journal (Winter 2026)
"Bigfoot and Other Fallacies" published in Superpresent (Spring 2026)
Rebecca Tigerhas two stories out this week! “Shadow Dancing” in Pithead Chapel and “The Fool on the Hill” in Ghost Parachute
Casey Liston has a story out, “Pride and Provenance” in South 85 Journal
You all are so awesome I can barely stand it! Nice work! Keep going!
Gen writing Prompt for this week:
May 12 and 16, 2026
Aaaaaaaaand SCENE
This weekend is the second reading of the the new reading series I’m running with Rachel Lyon and Emily Lackey, Kill Your Darlings Reading Series, in Easthampton at Darlings Cafe. In that spirit, I’m thinking about the sort of drama you can only get at an event where a lot of people from disparate corners of a community come together. An event offers you a ticking clock, the stakes of an audience, and the chance to put people together who normally would not be together. SO lots of fun for us to play with this week.
Let’s try. Begin a new piece in the genre of your choice that takes place at an event involving a performance. The piece should take place over the course of just the few hours of the event, which could mean it’s a single scene story or it could just mean that there are multiple scenes but the timeline of the story is capped. Here’s some more specific ideas of what you might include:
A performer learns disconcerting and/or life changing news before going on stage
A couple attends a show and by the end of it something about their relationship has irreversibly changed
Two people who are estranged for complex reasons reunite unexpectedly at an event that involves a performance
A performance turns out to be a guise for corporate or political messaging/propoganda or some other recruitment mechanism
Someone plans a heist that will take place at a performance
Someone plans a murder that will take place at the performance
You all are top notch.
Your bestie -
Kate
